Literary novelists who have a strong handle on plot are often characterized as good vacation reads because they manage to transport you… — Michelle Dean Copy Share Image
I realized that I might not ever make it as a writer, that it might be because I wasn't good enough, or… — Jay McInerney Copy Share Image
“I said something about reading not being knowledge, about knowledge without experience being food without sustenance.” — David Mitchell Copy Share Image
When 'If God Was a Banker' became a success, it changed my entire perspective. I wanted to write more and wanted to… — Ravi Subramanian Copy Share Image
My night stand is more like a geological structure: a bunch of books piled on the floor with its own strata. — David Grann Copy Share Image
I write because I write - as anyone in the arts does. You're a painter because you feel you have no choice… — Richard Price Copy Share Image
Writing is not getting any easier or harder. I think I know what I want more, I know what I'm looking for. — Jennifer Warnes Copy Share Image
My gut is so strong. I feel like I have a lot of books in me, and they're going to come out… — Rupi Kaur Copy Share Image
“Dispersal was a conscious strategy of the plunderers. Only by destroying these collections could they build up new ones. Many of these… — Anders Rydell Copy Share Image
There's a point at which writing a book, or a long article, begins to feel like mental labor, and it's too painful… — Alexandra Fuller Copy Share Image
“He pressed bravely ahead with his story, the outlines and preliminary versions of which by now filled two thick notebooks, reorganizing, redrafting,… — Dennis Etchison Copy Share Image
Writing takes gall. I like to think that's true even for writers with several books under their belt, writers who have been… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Life can be unsettling. Writers have always gravitated to conflict, unhappiness and disturbing themes. We as readers would get bored pretty quickly… — Clarence Major Copy Share Image
Of course, sometimes when you write personally, you are also writing about society, obliquely reflecting topical issues, but not in a way… — Suzanne Vega Copy Share Image
“What's remarkable about fiction is that it places you in the unusual position of having no trajectory. You stand aside, motives abandoned… — Tom Rachman Copy Share Image
Naturally, you don't sit down in "white hot inspiration" and write with a burning flame in front of you. But since I… — Harper Lee Copy Share Image
To me, a writer is one of the most important soldiers in the fight for survival of the human race. He must… — Leon Uris Copy Share Image
Don't outline your stories. A lot of fiction workshops say you should. I say the opposite. I quote Grace Paley: "We write… — Andre Dubus Copy Share Image
Hugh Howey and Amanda Hocking come to mind immediately as authors who managed to build a successful following without the initial support… — Jennifer Armintrout Copy Share Image
“Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books written because authors couldn't find anyone to talk… — Alain de Botton Copy Share Image
“A horror writer is one who is not only willing to look into the darkest of shadows...but to reach into them too.” — Thomas Scopel Copy Share Image
Beginning writers must appreciate the prerequisites if they hope to become writers. You pay your dues - which takes years. — Alex Haley Copy Share Image
In books we never find anything but ourselves. Strangely enough, that always gives us great pleasure, and we say the author is… — Thomas Mann Copy Share Image
Young readers have to be entertained. No child reads fiction because they think it's going to make them a better person. — Anonymous Copy Share Image
I was nearly 40 when I started. I had no fear that I wasn't going to write. I knew it was just… — Jane Gardam Copy Share Image
“A good fiction writer can write any character or any story that she wants to write. The importance, IMO, is a burning… — Suzanne Brockmann Copy Share Image
I'm a method writer. In order to write about the emotion, I have to experience it. I get physically tired and exhausted,… — Sherman Alexie Copy Share Image
“It is surely significant that the adults who feature in children's books are rarely, if ever, Regional Sales Managers or Building Services… — Alain de Botton Copy Share Image
“What I loved were books that heightened the sense of life’s wonders without denying the complexity and horror that sometimes accompanied those… — Dorothy Allison Copy Share Image
Avoid the unhappy ending, the harsh, the brutal, the tragic, the horrible -- if you care to see in print things you… — Jack London Copy Share Image
I think you must remember that a writer is a simple-minded person to begin with and go on that basis. He's not… — Erskine Caldwell Copy Share Image
“Digital books are in some ways hastening the lazy, solipsistic narcissism of our culture. We use our gadgets as proxies for other… — Jason Merkoski Copy Share Image
You have to be able to play: this is spontaneous interaction, and it flexes all the creative muscles you need as a… — Catherine Brady Copy Share Image
Whenever I write a novel, I have a strong sense that I am doing something I was unable to do before. With… — Haruki Murakami Copy Share Image
My mom worked as a pharmacist, but she is one of the best storytellers I know. My sister is a gospel and… — Tunde Adebimpe Copy Share Image
How I learned to read was by reading the captions on TV, and I grew up from a really young age watching… — Cameron Monaghan Copy Share Image
Every book I've written has been a different attempt to understand something, and the success or failure of the previous one is… — Yann Martel Copy Share Image
The word processor is a better tool than a quill pen because you can do so much more with it, but on… — Walter Murch Copy Share Image
Read over your compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out. — Samuel Johnson Copy Share Image
I tend to write things and review it afterwards and realise what comes out. I very rarely ever write something and have… — Ellie Goulding Copy Share Image
